Electric Zoo Music Fest Canceled Early – Again

Yesterday afternoon, Kaskade tweeted “Who has the keys to Barclays Center?” Why? It looks like he was giving a half-kidding glimmer of hope that the show would go on – but that wasn’t the case.

For the second year in a row, The Electric Zoo was forced to come to an early end, cutting off events on the final day of New York’s music festival. Last year’s reasons involved the death of two attendees after taking Molly – this year, it was the weather. Thunder, lightening and flash flood warnings forced officials to send thousands of people to evacuate Randall’s Island Park by ferry.

The Electric Zoo of 2014 went to all kinds of lengths to ensure safety after last year. Festivalgoers were required to watch a short video forbidding any use of drugs, and entry bracelets were only accessible to those who knew the code shown at the end of the video. Dogs, security officers, and surveillance systems all made an appearance. Among the security team were at least 50 pre-med, nursing, and EMT students – all acted as “zookeepers.” Bags were searched, and dancers (on the whole) kept it on the safe side.

Among the performers on Friday and Saturday were David Guetta, Zedd, Laidback Luke and Armin Van Buuren. Sunday’s cancelation meant that performances by Kaskade, Alesso, and Skrillex and Diplo‘s collaboration (Jack U.) would not be seen. When the weather forced a swift exit, no incidents of serious injury were reported. Electric Zoo’s tweet stated, “We apologize to fans, but your safety is our main concern.” In response alongside Kaskade, Diplo temporarily changed his Twitter username to “Category 6 Plurican” and also mourned the fest’s early end: “Damn the Pluricane struck 4 real.”

Across New York, the weather wrecked havoc – buildings in Washington Heights experienced some flooding, and two people were injured when lightening struck near Orchard Beach in the Bronx.

With this being the second cancelation in a row, and (unlike last year) no refunds being offered as of yet, crushed fans are taking to social media with their laments. Several on Yelp! asked repeatedly why the dates were not moved after the weather forecast was announced earlier in the week. On Twitter, one said, “Sunday of Electic Zoo is cursed.”